Hooded Merganser (Female)

The Hooded Merganser prefers wooded swamps and is rarely near salt water. Both male and female show a large crest. The female is dingy gray-brown. These mergansers rise easily in flight and do not run along the water. The nest is always in a tree cavity. It contains 10 to 12 eggs. After the young hatch, they jump to the ground or water. Hooded Mergansers dive will and feed on small fish, tadpoles and crustaceans.